


Ursa Major, Ursa Minor (Part One)

by skymageariel



Series: 31 days of The Dragon Prince [14]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Modern AU, school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:49:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27025333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skymageariel/pseuds/skymageariel
Summary: A study date goes horribly wrong, even though all Rayla wanted to do was have a little bit of fun.
Relationships: Rayllum (The Dragon Prince), Ruthari (The Dragon Prince), Tinkaan (The Dragon Prince)
Series: 31 days of The Dragon Prince [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946767
Comments: 6
Kudos: 41





	Ursa Major, Ursa Minor (Part One)

“Hey,” Rayla said, falling back onto her bed. “You wanna go into the woods today?”

“We definitely do not have time,” Callum said, sitting at her desk, not looking up from the biology textbook. “The vocabulary list is due at midnight, remember?”

“Yeah, but thats six hours away!” Rayla rolled over face in her pillow. “And I’m booooorrreed!” Her voice was muffled by the fabric.

“I’m sorry you’re bored, but we have to get this done! Now have you written down the definition of a lipid, or do we need to go over it again?” Callum turned back a page, ready to read out the information she needed. 

“Yes, I have it,” she groaned.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“...Really?”

“No, I don’t!” Rayla sat up, facing Callum. “And what’s it to you!”

“If we don’t turn in the vocab list by midnight,” he chided, “we get zeros. Now if you’ll excuse me, If you’re going to be a distraction, I’ll do it by myself.” He set the textbook on the desk,, writing definitions in his notebook.

“You’re no fun,” she groaned, shoulders slumping. Callum didn’t respond. Instead, he stayed hunched over the papers in front of him, drawing a finger across the lines on the page as he wrote the vocabulary definitions. That’s when a lightbulb appeared over Rayla’s head. 

She quietly slid onto the ground, socks making absolutely no sound on the carpet. Tiptoeing over, she sized up her target. And in one, swift motion…

“Hey!” Callum yelled as Rayla pulled his textbook out from under his hand. “Give that back!”

“Not until we do something fun!”

“We can do something fun after I get this grade!”

Rayla just laughed. “When will you learn that I always get what I want?” she said, giddy as she bounced on her toes. Callum knew this energy all too well.

“Rayla? What are you planning?” he asked with trepidation, knowing the question could trigger the plan into action.

“Just making sure we live a little before we die!” She sprinted from the room, textbook in hand, bounding down the stairs and out the back door, into the forest that lined the yard behind her house. Callum followed close behind, trying to hide a smile. He stopped at the top of the yard, staring Rayla down as she waited at the treeline.

“Give it back!” he yelled with a smile.

“It’s working!” Rayla laughed, dashing into the woods, leaves crunching under her feet, weaving between golden trees lighted by the sinking sun. She grinned widely as she went, following the stream deeper and deeper into the woods, letting the rushing water be her compass. 

And yet, when everything seemed to be perfect, that’s when life decided to throw a curveball. 

Rayla was still in socks.

A sharp pain erupted from the bottom of her foot, sending Rayla to the ground with a yelp. She fell on top of the biology textbook, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Struggling to breathe, Rayla collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. Spots danced in front of her eyes, clouding her vision, as she coughed and gasped for air, though none of it reached her chest.

“Rayla!” she could hear in the distance, but Callum’s voice was far. She didn’t have the strength to yell back, air refusing to enter her lungs. Leaves crunched in the distance. The sound only got softer as Callum moved further away. 

“Come back,” she groaned, sitting up as best she could, hugging her stomach. A throbbing pain in her heel seemed to spread. She moved her foot to find that whatever she had stepped on had not only ripped her sock, but had impaled her heel, and that blood was gushing from the wound. Unsure of what to do next, she scanned her surroundings, trying to figure out which direction she’d come from.

She could not tell which direction she’d come from.

The sun had sunk below the horizon, eliminating the possibility of finding the west in which it set. The fall disoriented her- she couldn’t remember which way the river was flowing as she’d run, and now, she didn’t know which way to go to get back home. It was a 50% chance she’d wind up in her backyard and be able to get a band-aid. The remaining 50%? Rayla would find herself an extra mile away from home, hobbling wounded with no shoes and no long sleeves during a cold autumn night, getting herself sick as well as extremely lost. 

Inhale. Exhale.

Her lungs were working again. Rayla looked around, trying to find Callum’s textbook. If she was gonna make this up to him, the first step would be to actually do the homework with him. He was just stressed- this class was hard, and he was trying so hard to keep up with the workload. Rayla shook her head- why did she have to make it harder for him?

As her eyes adjusted to the dimming light, Rayla determined the textbook wasn’t on land. She clenched her eyes shut-  _ please don’t be in the river, please don’t be in the river, please don’t be in the river-  _ opening her eyes, she glanced down into the water, soaked biology book staring up at her. The cover was already covered in dirt. 

Inhale. Exhale.

Okay, so maybe the textbook couldn’t be saved. She would explain to the teacher what had happened- that she was messing around with Callum’s book, and it wasn’t his fault, and she’d pay for a new one.

“First things first,” she reminded herself, “You’re bleeding.” As gross as it was, and as much as Rayla hated it, her feet switched socks. She prayed the cotton would be enough until she got home. “Okay,” she whispered, “Step two.” As she stood, her knees began to shake, but she stood anyways, keeping all of her weight on one leg. Ignoring the dizziness, she listened. Listening for a rustle in the leaves, a shout. Wind and rushing water greeted her instead. The light dwindled, and this was making Rayla nervous. She needed to get home. She was getting cold. 

She shivered, hugging her arms for some source of warmth and comfort. Her teeth began to chatter, and her nose was already starting to run. The sky was indigo now, constellations and the moon lighting the earth. 

“CALLUM!” Listening to nothing but the echo of her own voice, Rayla began to wonder if she should flip the coin, risking the 50-50. “CALLUM, I’M HERE!” An owl called out in the distance, mocking her with his response. “HELLO?”

— 

“I don’t know why we’re just sitting here, we need to go back out there!” Callum paced the kitchen as Runaan and Ethari watched nervously. Hours had passed, and they’d draped a blanket over his shoulders, giving him a cup of tea, but he couldn’t relax. 

“Rayla knows these woods like the back of her hand,” Ethari assured him, “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

“It’s cold out there, and she’s in a t-shirt!” Callum yelled, putting the cup of tea on the counter. “I heard someone yell, but I couldn’t find the source.” His hands moved wildly as he spoke. “Something isn’t right, I don’t think she’s playing a game anymore! It’s been dark for an hour now, and I know Rayla doesn’t like the dark!”

“She’s smart, she’ll be able to-“

“I know she is, I know that she would be able to come home if she could, but she hasn’t.” Callum stopped, facing the both of them “Why aren’t you as worried as I am!”

Runaan and Ethari shared a look, one that only the other knew the meaning. Callum could see the sadness in their eyes. 

“You’re right,” Runaan said, standing. “Ethari, I know you have faith in her, but something is amiss. We need to make sure everything is alright, we can’t stand idly by.” Ethari stood as Runaan made his way to the coat closet just across the kitchen threshold, grabbing Rayla’s favorite hoodie. It had once been Callum’s. Once he had it in hand, slipping on a pair of shoes, Runaan opened the back door, stepping out into the crisp, nighttime air. Callum followed as he strode across the lawn, turning on the flashlight on his phone. Crickets resounded in the dark, stars lighting up the sky. 

“Never move too far away,” Runaan told Callum as they entered the woods. “If you ever can’t see my light, you’ve gone too far.”

“Got it,” Callum replied, already shivering. 

They began their search a few paces apart, keeping the other in the corner of their eye. As Runaan yelled Rayla’s name, echoing against the trees, Callum began to feel guilt settle in his stomach.

“RAYLA!” he called, flashbacks filling his vision. When the two of them were trying to make a cake for Ezran’s birthday, she tipped the bowl over too far, batter making a puddle as big as the entire kitchen. Then, he laughed and laughed, and said “Rayla!” in a childish way, in disbelief that she’d made such a mess. “RAYLA! WHERE ARE YOU?” When they were building the set for the school show, Rayla was helping Soren position lights in the catwalks. Callum, painting walls below, looked up, smiled, and said “Hi, Rayla!” She’d smile back, waving at him, making shadow puppets in the lights they were fixing. “RAYLA?” His voice was getting desperate. How could he have been such a jerk! She just wanted to relax, to have fun. If he had just listened- if he had let go for once, deciding to be okay with a late grade for the first time, if he had decided to go on that hike, like she wanted to, maybe she wouldn't be in this mess. “RAYLA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?” No one but the rushing water nearby answered the call. This was all his fault. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks so much for reading! this ones a little sadder but yk it is what it is lol- hope you come back for part two! 
> 
> also just a quick clarification- her running away is written pretty concisely, but she actually ran quite a bit! she must have gone far if no one can find her haha


End file.
